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Chapter 628: They’re Really Rich
🕑 Added 2025-03-17 11:59:13 +0000 UTC“Oh, the esteemed Professor Diggory.”
A few days later, on the way to Hogsmeade Village, Fred winked at Cedric and said, “Please allow me to greet you and offer you my humble respects.”
George, suppressing a grin, looked at him seriously. “If it's possible, Professor, could you please exempt us from our homework?”
Cedric rubbed his forehead in mild distress.
Though he'd long since come to expect sarcasm from the twins, he still felt a headache brewing after seeing their grinning faces in the entrance hall that morning. They had managed to keep their mockery in check while inside the castle, likely out of fear someone might overhear them and report them to Umbridge. But today was Hogsmeade week, and the moment they were outside the school, the twins naturally loosened up. Like actors in a play, they heckled Cedric the entire way.
“Shut up, you two!” Cho snapped. “You didn’t have to come at all.”
“No, of course we want to come!” George replied.
“Yeah,” Fred nodded. “We’ll learn Defence Against the Dark Arts on our own… but I’d say you’ve got a pretty good idea of how it’s done. I’m so sick of that hag, Umbridge!”
“No, it was Hermione’s idea,” Cedric corrected, “and I’m not even sure anyone will join.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Fred assured him. “We asked around last night—seventeen Gryffindors alone want to join.”
“That many?” Cedric stopped in his tracks.
“Too many? Not at all,” Fred said, shaking his head. “Everyone’s been fed up with Umbridge for ages, and now they’re not going to miss the chance to learn some real skills.”
“And that’s just the first batch,” George added. “We figured if too many people showed up at the first meeting, it might be a bit conspicuous. But trust me, there’ll be more joining later.”
“Oh,” Cedric groaned softly, rubbing his forehead again.
He had thought that recruiting ten people from Hufflepuff would be plenty, but now it seemed Gryffindor’s turnout would be far greater. And if Ravenclaw joined in similar numbers…
He turned to Cho. “Ravenclaw’s not bringing that many people, are they?”
“Didn’t I just say that?” Cho blinked. “Okay, I forgot. But we’re not as enthusiastic as Gryffindor. Only a few people are interested in teaching themselves Defence Against the Dark Arts.”
Hearing this, Cedric let out a quiet sigh of relief. Judging by her words, the total number of attendees shouldn’t exceed thirty—still manageable. Any more than that, and he wasn’t sure he could handle it.
The group continued along the path to the entrance of Hogsmeade Village, their pace quickening as they went.
Hermione was already waiting for them.
“How about we go now?” she asked, trotting over. “To The Hog’s Head, as we discussed.”
“Hey, there’s no need to rush,” Fred said. “The meeting isn’t until ten. We’ve still got an hour.”
“I know,” Hermione replied. “But I think we should get ready early, see who’s there, and change the location if there are any professors.”
“Professors don’t go to places like that,” George said in a low voice. “They’d rather go to The Three Broomsticks—it’s cleaner and more lively.”
“Hermione’s right,” Cedric said, stepping forward. “Better to be safe than sorry. I’ll go with you.”
“Me too,” Cho added. “I’ve never been to The Hog’s Head before, so I’d like to check it out.”
“There’s really nothing to see there,” Fred said dismissively. “We ended up there by mistake once when we went the wrong way.”
“The place is shabby—no comparison to The Three Broomsticks. But it does have the advantage of being less crowded.”
“Maybe it’s because the environment’s so poor that most people don’t want to go there.”
...
Hermione doubted what Fred and George called “unintentionally,” but she chose not to comment.
“It’s okay, I don’t have anything to do right now,” Cedric said. “Do you want to go to Zonko’s first?”
“We need some inspiration lately,” George replied. “There’s so much to prepare for a joke shop, especially making sure the products are attractive enough.”
“Okay,” Cedric nodded. “We’ll see you later.”
With that, he left the main road with Cho and Hermione, heading down a quieter, more remote path.
“See you later,” Fred called after them, waving as he and George darted off toward Zonko’s Joke Shop in search of inspiration.
Meanwhile, Kyle had no plans to go to The Hog’s Head either. Instead, he walked with Kanna to Gladrags Wizardwear. He’d noticed recently that his long robe was getting a bit too small for him, and with winter approaching, it was time to buy a new one.
Gladrags Wizardwear was tucked away behind the main street, near the Shrieking Shack.
As they stepped inside, they found other students already there—two Slytherin girls, Daphne Greengrass and her younger sister Astoria.
Astoria was examining some oddly shaped brooches, while Daphne stood before a beautiful dress-robe on display, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
“This is a new arrival,” said the shopkeeper, a witch in her thirties, who was currently describing the dress-robe. “See these golden threads? They’re real gold. The silver is Unicorn tail hair, and the gems are from Fire Crabs—all incredibly rare.”
“How much?” Daphne couldn’t help but ask.
“Only 300 Galleons, my dear,” the shopkeeper replied with a smile. “It’s my finest work yet.”
Kyle glanced at the gown and almost laughed, though he managed to hold it back.
Daphne frowned slightly. Three hundred Galleons was steep, even for her, but the gown was stunning, and she clearly wanted it.
“You still have quite a bit of pocket money, don’t you?” Daphne asked her sister.
“Huh?” Astoria blinked, distracted, before pulling out a delicate coin purse. “Not much—just a hundred Galleons.”
“That’s enough. Lend it to me for now,” Daphne said, taking the money bag. “I need to try on this gown.”
“Of course,” the shopkeeper said with a pleased nod. “Right this way, please.”
Daphne followed the shopkeeper to the back of the store.
“Carrying around a hundred Galleons is ‘not much’?” Kanna whispered. “They’re really rich.”
Kyle suddenly chuckled, as if something amusing had come to mind.
“What are you laughing at?” Kanna asked.
“Nothing. I was just remembering the start of the school year, when we first met on the train,” Kyle replied. “You were just like them back then.”
“What?” Kanna looked confused.
“Don’t you remember?” Kyle said with a grin. “On the train, you poured out a whole pile of Galleons onto the table. Cedric and I were both stunned.”
“At the time, we couldn’t help thinking the same thing you’re thinking now—that witches from pureblood families must be loaded.”
“That was a long time ago,” Kanna retorted, glaring at him for dredging up her “dark past.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Kyle said, shifting the conversation. “What do you think of that gown?”
“It’s too flashy,” Kanna said with a hint of distaste. “It’s nice, but there are so many embellishments—it looks overdone. It must be uncomfortable to wear.”
“But some people like that style,” she added. “Last year at the Christmas ball, lots of people wore gowns like that.”
“Really?” Kyle asked, trying to recall but coming up blank.
“Of course,” Kanna replied. “There were quite a few. After the ball, Letty wouldn’t stop talking about it—she went on all night. For days afterward, all anyone could talk about were the dresses.”
“Okay.”
Their low conversation caught Astoria’s attention, as there were only three people in the shop, making it hard not to overhear. However, since she couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, she quickly moved farther away, seemingly to avoid the appearance of eavesdropping.
Her deliberate retreat didn’t go unnoticed by Kyle and Kanna.
“She really doesn’t seem like a Slytherin,” Kanna observed.
“No,” Kyle agreed. “Or maybe it’s just that she doesn’t seem like what a Slytherin is supposed to be these days.”
